Living in the Shadows
by Sanded Silk
Summary: While at a dinner party one night, Virgil meets a mysterious female criminal who seems to escape everyone's attention and focus except his own.
1. Chapter 1

So I got obsessed over Static Shock. XD

And I hate how lonely Static seems to me sometimes, especially when he and Richie (whom I really, REALLY dislike) temporarily stop their friendship. You know, after Richie completely bungles trying to be a sidekick, and multiple times when he gets jealous and makes a complete fool of himself. --gags--

So in this story I'm giving Virgil—or Static, whichever, because it won't make a difference—a new friend!! --is happy--

And please, all of you people who hate other people who make up perfect characters in their minds and stick that person into their story, please let up on me. I'm not writing this story because I have an awesome, perfect, imaginary character in my head and I want to give this character fame, but because I really feel bad for Virgil. So please read!! Compliments and constructive criticism is encouraged. Pleaaase lemme know if my writing style has declined after half a year of posting nothing. ;_;

AND I'M SORRY IF THE SLANG IN THIS STORY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE SHOW OR JUST WRONG, BECAUSE I SUCK AT ALTERING MY SLANG WHILE WRITING D:

**Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock, but I do own this new character of mine. To find out who s/he is, read on... --wink--**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

"Hmm, so nothing big today either?" Richie sounded disappointed—enough to make up for Virgil's lack of disappointment. "Yeah!" Virgil pumped his fist into the air, nearly jovial with relief. "With this lack of criminal activity in Dakota, I've been able to catch up on my sleep, and believe me, it feels awesome, man."

"I know, I know," Richie shook his head, exasperated. "But you're starting to lose your fame here, V! If nothing big happens soon, everyone will only remember you as-"

"-The one who temporarily, if not permanently, drove all criminals from Dakota. I know, that sounds _horrible._" Virgil rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"But wouldn't it suck to go back to 'normal' life?" Richie threw up his hands in frustration. "No more excitement! No more late nights out on your flying aluminum disc, feeling the wind in your hair and hearing civilians cheer for you as you zoom past them! Wouldn't you miss that?"

Virgil sighed and lolled his head back in his chair, closing his eyes. Richie had never understood how truly tiring it was to be a superhero. Richie had never stayed up with Virgil on late-night watches, nor had he ever helped Virgil battle in the middle of the night or even later. It wasn't Richie's grades which were falling; it wasn't Richie's parents getting worried and a little suspicious. It wasn't Richie's life who had been falling apart. But it had been Virgil's.

"You don't understand, man," Virgil said, despite the fact that he knew it was futile. Richie wouldn't ever understand.

The TV, which Richie had turned on in hopes of something big coming up, droned on about a minor robbing at a local grocery shop and an assassination attempt on some governor who no one had heard of until now. The robber had been captured, and the killer had been captured as well. All without Static's help.

And, much to Virgil's fervent praise, nothing big came up for the rest of the night.

The next night, however, Virgil was disappointed.

When Virgil walked into their broken-down station, which Richie called their headquarters, Virgil found Richie hopping up and down excitedly in front of the television. "Yes...YES!!"

Virgil sighed. "Do I wanna know?"

"Maybe not," Richie said, a huge smile on his face, "but you need to know anyway!! The news say that there's a new criminal in town, except no one knows anything about the criminal—not even how he looks like." Virgil's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "What? No one is clear even on the criminal's gender??"

Richie shook his head, nearly ecstatic. "Listen to this." He pointed the remote to the tv and turned up the volume with a flourish of his arm. Shelly Sandoval's serious face appeared as Richie moved out of the way.

"...locations of the robberies have nothing in common, but the manners in which the robberies were committed are explicitly alike. The things stolen are never noticed to be missing until later. Also, the criminal always leaves a single crimson origami crane in the place of what he steals. There have been five of these kinds of robberies so far, and all were in the time span of today and last night."

Richie turned to Virgil, smirking. Virgil shrugged. "So? It's not like I can do anything about that. You heard the reporter: the locations of the robberies have nothing in common. Which means the criminal targets any random place whenever he wishes. If the pros can't predict these kinds of things, then I can't either." Richie shrugged. "So what? All of these crimes have been happening in the early evening. If your watches were a little earlier than when they are right now, we have a chance of catching this criminal."

"But there is no way of catching this criminal, because the owners of the stores don't ever notice their goods to be missing until later, when the cranes are found. This criminal is good. He is able to steal right under the noses of the employees and the customers. By the time I'm summoned, I'd be too late." Virgil sighed, mockingly upset.

"Well, it's not like the owners of stores in Dakota are going to hear this and go on doing what they do in their usual way. They'll tighten their security, and post their stronger employees during the early evenings. The police are also on the prowl, too. And Dakota isn't even that big of a city--a commotion is easy to hear and find." Richie leaned closer. "Besides, with these crimes going on, the civilians are going to be expecting you to put some effort into finding this criminal. You don't want to upset them, do you?"

Virgil frowned. "Fine, I'll move my watch time to an earlier time. But just to prove to you that my efforts aren't going to be much use in catching this criminal."

Richie just shrugged, and turned to the two walkie-talkies he had made, humming while making sure the wires and nails were tightly in place.

-o-o-

Virgil barely had time to pull on his goggles over his white mask before Richie shoved him out into the early night. "Okay, okay! I'm going! Sheesh," Virgil said, frowning. Richie waved his walkie-talkie at Virgil in good-bye, and disappeared into their hide-out. Virgil quickly charged his flying saucer with a burst of electricity, jumped on, and guided the shining disc of aluminum up into the sky.

Just as Virgil decided that it was time to return to the earth, yelling floated to his ears. With a sigh, he lowered his disc until he saw a crowd around what appeared to be a store. _Crap. _

"What's up?" Virgil asked, trying to sound genuinely interested, as he floated down by a group of police officers. "Static! Good to see you," One policeman said enthusiastically. "You been following the news? Heard about those robberies where the robber leaves only a red crane behind, right? Well, one of those robberies happened just now. Looks like the criminal got away again."

Virgil nodded. "Well, I'll see what I can do, sir." The police officers nodded, and plowed through the crowd into the building, probably in search of clues.

Virgil floated up towards the rooftop of the store, and flew in a slow circle around the building. On the two sides of the store were two other stores, separated by narrow alleys filled with trash cans. Behind the store was the back of yet another store, also separated by a dark alley. Virgil sighed. There weren't many ways the criminal could have used to escape. He floated down to the ground, tucked his disc under his arm, and began to walk around the store. No footprints, no extra red cranes, no stray bits of cloth—nothing. Virgil frowned in frustration, and circled the building again, before entering the store.

The police were stalking around listlessly, as if knowing that investigation produced nothing. Virgil folded up his disc and tucked it into his jacket, easily spotted the yellow caution tape surrounding a row of shelves, and walked towards it. He ducked easily under the tape and caught sight of the afore-mentioned crimson crane.

There was something strange about the crane. The paper that had been used to make it was silky-smooth and glinted from dim store lights glancing off of its blood-red surface. The folds had been perfectly precise and sharp, and no extra creases were visible--not even the slightest dent where the maker could have put their fingers. With pointed beak and knife-sharp wing and tail tips, the paper crane looked like a real menace—a potential weapon.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?" The police chief asked as he walked up behind Virgil. Virgil nodded glumly. "Yeah, it's almost creepy. So, chief, did your crew get any new info from this robbery?" The chief shook his head ruefully. "No, unfortunately. This robbery is just like all of the other robberies in the chain we think it belongs to; no fingerprints, no shoeprints—not even any information about how the criminal looks like. Again." The chief sighed and looked down at the scuffed toe of his shoe. "It's like this criminal's invisible or something." Then, he looked up and eyed Virgil. "Think maybe it's another Bang Baby?" Virgil shrugged helplessly. "No way to tell. Better luck next time, maybe." With that, Virgil gave the chief his usual salute, gave his disc a shake, charged it with a burst of electricity, and sped out through the door, taking his walkie-talkie out of his hidden jacket pocket as he went.

"Static to Richie," He said in the midst of a sigh. Richie replied almost immediately. "Yo! Any luck? You know, on finding the robber?"

Virgil shook his head, before realizing that Richie couldn't see him. "No, man. Static is a superhero. Not a detective. If the criminal escapes from the scene before Static gets there, then there really isn't anything Static can do about it."

Richie sighed like a deflating balloon. "Aw, man. Sorry. Maybe something'll happen next time!"

Virgil slipped his walkie-talkie into his hidden pocket without verbally signing out and scanned his surroundings with another deep sigh. Despite his relief of not having to stay up all night chasing an invisible criminal on a night before a school day, Virgil still felt slightly under-accomplished. These crimes happening, and the criminal getting away ever time—technically, none of this was Virgil's fault. However, if he had been more enthusiastic, more dedicated, then maybe…

Out of the corner of his eye, Virgil suddenly spotted movement in the shadows. He turned his head around, squinting into the darkness. Nothing seemed to be there. Slowly, he turned his head back around. Then, there it was again—a slight disturbance in the dimness, as if something were moving underneath the blanket of darkness that the buildings cast over the ground. With the slightest of hesitation, Virgil lowered his disc and searched the area with his eyes.

Suddenly, there was another rupture in the smooth darkness, and then a dull red light, barely visible, on the ground, perfectly still. Virgil swooped down and made a grab for the red light. From underneath his thick gloves, Virgil could feel the slight crumple of…

Paper?

He held the object in his fingers up to the fading light of the sun, and found himself staring at a flawless crane, made of silken red paper, glinting dully in the diminishing light.

With a gasp, Virgil whirled around on his disc, frantically looking for whatever—whoever—had left the crane.

Standing on top of a nearby building with long tendrils of hair swaying in the frantic dance of the wind stood a girl swathed in loose black clothing silhouetted against the warm-colored sky. The girl stood there for a moment, then turned and ran from Virgil's view.

With the paper crane cradled carefully in his fingers, Virgil took off after the mysterious girl on his disc. As he soared above the building she had been on, he scanned the nearby area, looking for and finding a dark figure performing breath-taking rooftop gymnastics, running swiftly and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, away from Virgil. Virgil tilted his disc slightly with his free hand and dropped in altitude so abruptly that he felt his heart leap up into his throat, and sped after the girl.

"Hey," he yelled as he caught up with her, flying at her side and--surprisingly--barely keeping up. "Are you the one taking stuff from the stores and leaving these cranes behind?" She turned her head, her face obscured by a black mask covering her face from the eyes down, and her eyes shaded from view by an oversized black felt beret with the brim pulled extremely low. From underneath her beret, Virgil caught a scent of something unfamiliar--utter surprise.

Before he could question her further, she turned her head back around, and pumped her arms faster. Her loose black sleeves, which were definitely at least half a foot too long for her, fell back to her elbows, revealing long black gloves with metal arm guards strapped around her forearms. Fading sunlight came into contact with the thick bands of polished metal and slid down her arms in elegant strips. Under a loose black shirt with a high, wide collar, she wore another tighter black shirt which wrapped securely around her slim body down to her hips. Thick loose black sweatpants covered her body from the hips down to her shins. From her shins to her shoes, which resembled black ballet slippers without the elastic band across the top of the foot, stretched black stockings.

Before Virgil could get a better look at her, the girl suddenly stopped. Virgil sped way past her before he could slow down and turn around, and by the time he did, the girl had disappeared.

Cursing mentally, Virgil forced himself to think. She hadn't appeared to be carrying anything, which meant that if she was the criminal who had been leaving the red cranes behind, she would have gone back to somewhere near the store where she probably had hidden her goods. Turning sharply, Virgil sped back to the store and circled the skies, waiting for movement in the shadows. Even after several minutes, no disturbances rippled the shadows.

Sighing in frustration, Virgil ran a hand over his dredlocks, and decided to go home.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the skyrocketing level of boringness. I really couldn't find a way to make this more interesting than it already is. Please bear with my horrible writing for a little longer, cuz I haven't written in _ages_.

R&R!!

--Sanded Silk--


	2. Chapter 2

Second chappie :)

Nothing much to say, or else I'll end up giving away the whole chappie, or even the whole story. -sigh-

**Disclaimer: I own the red-crane criminal, and nothing else. But that will change soon... -plotting- XD**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

Virgil hopped off of his disc, shook it into a pocket-size circular object, and slipped it into his pocket. Almost as soon as his hand left his pocket, Richie came tripping out of the gas station's door. "Static! Did anything happen? _Other than_ your failure in catching the criminal?"

Virgil slammed his gloved palm against his forehead in an attempt to keep from lashing out and hitting Richie across the face. "_No, _man. I told you that Static would be of no use in catching a criminal where detective work was the main thing needed." Ritchie recoiled, sensing that it was a good time to shut up. Then, he dove into another subject, leaving Virgil no time to ponder on that night's events.

"Yo, man, just remembered something. While you were out on watch, your dad called me. Shaq is coming back to visit, and wants us to meet up with him at a restaurant tomorrow in his hotel. He promises that this time it'll be a quiet dinner."

"'Us'?" Virgil asked as he took off his mask and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, man. _Us. _Shaq wants me to go too!" Ritchie pumped a fist into the air.

Virgil nodded. "Ok. I don't have anything planned tomorrow night. I guess I can make it." He turned from Ritchie out into the night, feeling inexplicably alone.

---

"So, Virg," Shaq managed through a mouthful of chicken. "How have you been?"

Virgil poked at his food. _Lonely. Annoyed. I don't know._"Good. How've you been? Dealing with the press every day?"

"Naw, they ain't that bad," Shaq said, smiling as he swallowed. He turned to talk to Ritchie, who was stuffing his face with food that Shaq had promised to pay for.

Virgil sighed and allowed his eyes to wander. The dining room of this hotel was huge. _Huge_. The lights were hazy and dim, and the furniture was all mahogany and black, giving the room an eerie, intimate feel. Facing the huge doorway at the opposite end of the room was a stage, where musicians or comedians occasionally performed. Currently, the deep red curtains were open, and on the stage, under a swimmy haze of dim red light, was a black grand piano.

Virgil sighed, tugged at his tie to loosen it, and looked back down on his food. _Well, the food won't eat itself, I guess._

Virgil felt himself drawing further and further away from everyone else at the table as he ate. It was a strange feeling, as if he were entering a slice of reality that no one else inhabited. Sharon and Shaq were talking, laughing--Richie and Virgil's father were listening, and laughing as well. Virgil didn't feel like he was any part of it at all.

But this seclusion was peaceful. The worries that came packed with Virgil's life seemed to fall away, and Virgil leaned back in his chair, food untouched.

And for the first time that night, he heard the piano music.

The sound seemed to fade into his ears, slowly filtering into his consciousness. When it fully registered--when Virgil could finally focus on the tune--the sadness of the melody wrenched his heart. The music wasn't flat and stony, like piano music sounded when it was being recorded, or when the pianist was half asleep. It was fully alive, and saturated with sadness, as if the pianist were pouring all of his loneliness and pain into the song.

Virgil turned his head towards the stage, and noticed for the first time that night a strange girl sitting on the piano seat. Dark hair, smooth as wet silk, covered the girl's face from view. Her thin body, clothed in black, was perched at the very edge of the piano bench. Thin legs, swathed in thick dark sweatpants, crossed at the ankles elegantly. Her thin arms and wrists, draped with black cloth, moved silently and smoothly over the piano keys. She bent down close to the piano as she reached places where she slowed down slightly, and when she did so, black hair escaped from behind her shoulder and touched her lap with its tips.

Virgil stood up weightlessly and walked towards the pianist, drawn by the loneliness that flowed in the music. She continued playing, unaware of him advancing. He stopped at the edge of the elevated stage, gazing up at the girl's lonesome figure, listening to the emotion she poured out.

Then, without warning, the music came to a stop. She lifted her slim fingers from the keys and, with her hands still floating in the air, turned her face slowly to stare at Virgil.

As soon as her slanted black eyes met Virgil's dark brown stare, Virgil felt the ground sweep out from underneath him. The stage, the piano, even the girl's thin Chinese face, swirled and blurred and spiraled into nothingness. Only her eyes remained in focus, staring at him, into him, through him. A shock touched his body, and he suddenly felt too big to fit in his skin. Something writhed inside him. Harder, harder it struggled against the shell of his body. Then, a flash of white.

Just as soon as it started, whatever it was ended. Everything that had surrounded Virgil before appeared abruptly, as if someone had switched on lights that reflected the inside of the hotel's dining room on a screen. Virgil staggered a little, feeling as if a giant had grabbed him and slammed him back onto the ground. When his sight stopped swimming, he looked up to find that the girl was still there, her hands in midair, her black eyes fixed on him. She blinked slowly, and suddenly, Virgil could stand again.

He grasped the edge of the stage. She lowered her hands into her lap. Waiters and laughing customers walked by Virgil without seeming to notice him, or the Chinese girl sitting on the piano bench. For a long moment, neither moved.

Virgil broke the heavy silence. "Please," He croaked, finding his throat suddenly dry. "Please, don't stop playing."

The girl's face turned fully towards him, and she lifted a hand to push a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Then please come up here," She replied in a quiet, quiet voice, beckoning towards a shallow staircase to her right. "It's been awhile since I've last talked to someone." He obliged, climbing the staircase and walking to her piano bench. He sat down beside her on the edge of the bench as she began to play the same song again.

"Is this the only song you know?" Virgil asked quietly. She shook her head, and smiled wanly. "I know many more. Before I breathed the Bang Baby gas, I had a teacher." She had the slightest Chinese accent.

"You're a Bang Baby, then?" Virgil's eyes widened. She nodded. "The gas seems to have thrown me into a dimension of reality that belongs solely to myself. Though I stand in plain sight to the world, no one can see me or hear me, unless they wear their minds out trying to focus on me. I walk on a plane no one else walks. Until now." She tilted her face towards him and smiled again; that blank smile that didn't even brush her eyes.

Virgil was about to ask her more, when suddenly her eyes turned to the door. The curve of her dry lips disappeared. Virgil turned around in time to see the doors burst open and fall from their hinges. Amid the cloud of debris stood Puff and Onyx, grinning maliciously.

Virgil sighed. "Crap, it's them," He muttered to himself, before turning back to the mysterious girl. "Yo, you should leave. Those two are a dangerous pair."

The girl turned away from the piano and calmly stood up, brushing off her sweatpants. "Remember? No one can see me. No one can hear me." Virgil, becoming more agitated, was about to persuade her to leave again, when she suddenly turned her emotionless eyes to him and placed a thin hand on his arm. "Tell you what," She said quietly. "Since I already know your secret, I'll tell you mine."

"My...secret?" Virgil blinked at her. "Who you really are." She smiled. "Or rather, who Static really is."

Virgil's eyes widened, and his mouth opened to speak, but she quietly interrupted him. "It wasn't just your hair and your build. It was your eyes. Never have I seen anyone with such lonesome eyes." Her smile disappeared, and something that bordered sadness took over her face.

A loud crash came from a corner of the room, and Puff floated by, purple smoke seeping from between her grinning lips. Now wasn't the time to argue. "Then tell me your secret," Virgil said, somewhat confused, as he pulled his mask and goggles from his pocket. She grinned, and reached into her own pocket. First she drew out a pair of thick black leather gloves, which she slipped easily onto her hands. Silently, she reached into another pocket. She paused for a moment.

When she withdrew her hand, a red paper crane was sitting in her palm.

Virgil stared at the crane, then at her smiling face. He dug his hand into his sweater pocket and pulled out the battered red paper crane from the night before, worn out from hours of Virgil's close investigation. He held it next to the flawless crane sitting in the girl's hand. The size, color, and paper type were exactly the same.

The girl dropped the crane back into her pocket, her face still frozen in a wan smile. She pointed wordlessly at Puff and Onyx, who were currently terrorizing a young couple in a corner. Then, she turned and disappeared into the thick shadows casted by the deep red curtains of the stage.

* * *

**A/N: **Umm...I felt like this was the right place to end. Ehehehe, sorry if it's kinda an awkward place to cut off...

Please R&R :D

--Sanded Silk


	3. Chapter 3

Hmm, not many reviews. I can't really threaten to stop this story, though, cuz it sucks, and if I end it, no one will care :/

Ah well. Read at your leisure. I don't update often, anyway.

**Disclaimer: Dun own anything.**

--Sanded Silk

* * *

As soon as the girl disappeared from view, Virgil ducked behind a piano and quickly slipped into his costume. He flew out from behind the piano, trademark smirk on his face. As soon as he did, something hit him in the face, like a wave of thick air. When it passed, everyone seemed to notice him at once.

"Static! There you are!"

"He's here!"

Cheers and cries sounded around him as he aimed his disc at Puff and Onyx and dived.

---

Virgil flopped down onto his bed at 11pm the night after the dinner with Shaq, showered and pajamaed and extremely tired. His father ambled in to bid him good night, and Virgil turned off his lamp before turning his face to his wall, intent on sleeping. But sleep refused to sooth his mind with its fingers, and he remained wide awake for quite awhile, events from the dinner running through his head.

The Chinese red-crane girl. Her words, her actions--_her_ in general. It all seemed so unreal. Virgil sighed. The Bang Baby gas had affected her much more negatively than it did he. It had isolated her from society, turned her into a girl stoic and mature way beyond her years. He remembered the way her voice cracked when she first spoke to him. When was the last time she had spoken to someone before he had approached her?

When Virgil tried to close his eyes, her face floated into his mind. Her wan smile, her cheeks hollow with hunger and loneliness, her black eyes cold and blank. Most Chinese people Virgil had seen were stereotypical Asians--well-fed, well-educated, happy despite the racial issues that hung in the air. But not this girl.

She smiled wanly again in his mind's eye, black hair pushed haphazardly behind her shoulder, and Virgil shuddered at the fakeness of her expression. There had to be a way he could help this girl. Perhaps he could walk around the city tomorrow and ask around, see if anyone was missing a Chinese daughter about his age. Or perhaps he could merely seek her out every night during watch and talk to her, and keep her from going insane. He had many questions for her, anyway.

Or perhaps she wanted no help, needed no company. Perhaps she enjoyed being a loner, and walking in plain sight with no one noticing pleased her.

Virgil sighed and buried his face into his pillow for a moment, before reaching for his portable CD player and his earphones. He slipped a CD in and put the earphones over his ears, hoping that the music would drown out all thoughts. After half an hour of blasting music into his already-throbbing head, Virgil finally slept.

---

"Uhh...dude?" Richie gaped.

"Yeah?" Virgil replied, trying to put his costume on over his school clothing as fast as possible. He slapped his mask onto his face and was out the door, trying to put on his goggles with one hand and whip out his disc with the other hand.

"Yo! Why the hurry?" Richie called after him as Virgil hopped onto the disc and fixed his goggles with both hands. "...I was thinking last night about this invisible criminal. I think I may have a lead."

"And you didn't tell me?" Richie shook his fist at Virgil playfully, but waved him off. Virgil swooshed into the sky, hid mind already in the clouds. First, to find a robbery. Or would she rob a store, knowing that he knew her identity?

But what did it matter? Even if he could see and hear her, no one else could. Trying to turn her in would be awkward if he appeared to be turning in no one at all.

He circled in the skies, frustrated. He'd just have to wait and see.

But this night, his work was done for him. As he cruised in the skies, he caught sight of the police chief waving at him from the door of a grocery store. He dropped altitude and hopped onto the ground, smiling his usual smile. "Hey, chief! Anything new?"

"Glad to see you, Static. One of _those_ robberies happened again." Virgil's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain smirking. "Our red-crane criminal showed up again? Show the way, please." The chief turned and ambled towards the front doors of the store. Virgil followed, and they came to the crime scene. A horde of mangoes were missing, and on the wooden stand sat a lonely red crane. Virgil picked it up gingerly and held it up to the dim store lights, squinting. The light glinted off of the smooth paper, and the beak was folded straight and sharp. Virgil carefully set it back on the wooden stand. "Yup, this was definitely our criminal," He sighed. "But why would he need a bunch of mangoes?"

The chief shrugged. "Yesterday it was a bunch of oranges. We have as much of an idea as you do, Static."

_That's not possible. I know way more than you do. _"Yeah, man. I'll fly around, see if I can pick up anything."

"Thanks, Static." The chief waved as Virgil cruised out the door.

---

Virgil peeked out from behind the pipe to see the last police car pulling out. He looked down at the red crane clutched in his hand that he had found right outside the store, and turned to the shadows.

"They're gone, Red Crane."

Even though she hadn't shown herself to him, he knew she was there. He had felt her smiling wanly at him from the thick shadows as he bent over to pick up the red crane when he first saw it.

She stepped out from the shadows, swathed in black clothing. As she walked towards him, she shook off her cloth mask to speak. "'Red Crane'?" She mused, stuffing her mask into a pocket of her sweatpants. "Interesting."

"Listen, I got some questions for you," Virgil said, turning fully to face her. "First, why do you steal from these stores?"

She blinked slowly. "Walk three blocks south from here, then turn right and continue for about eight minutes. You'll come across a band of homeless children younger than you who formed a gang together not for fun, but to survive. To prevent them from turning to crime in order to not starve to death, I merely perform the crimes for them."

"Why do you help them? Because you get bored?"

"Because one of them is my sister."

"And what--...oh. I had no idea."

"No, you didn't." Red Crane stared unnervingly at him.

Virgil squirmed under her gaze. _Next question. _"And secondly, how is it that I can see you?"

Red Crane's eyes shifted to gaze at something behind him. "I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with your loneliness. Only when you are truly isolated from the world do you notice things that no one else does. Sometimes, when I walk around on the streets, some of the homeless people can see me. I don't think they can see me completely, because once they look up at me, their eyes go out of focus, and they seem to forget that I was there."

Her gaze refocused on him. "But I'm not sure how you can see and hear me clearly, much less focus on me for more than two seconds." Her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you are even lonelier than the homeless people on the street."

Silence ensued.

"Uhh...ok. I guess. Is that the only idea you have?" Red Crane shrugged. "There are other possibilities, of course--for example, the Big Bang could have given you the ability to see me. Or perhaps you're just different from everyone else. But none of those possibilities are as likely as the one in your eyes." She gazed unblinkingly into his eyes, the darkness of her pupils swirling, and he had to look away.

"Last question. Why were you at the hotel restaurant yesterday?"

"Oh. I sort of live in that hotel."

"...What?" Virgil crooked an eyebrow not at the fact that she lived in a hotel, but at the fact that she so willingly told him where she lived.

"Oh, you'll never find me in that hotel if I don't want you to. Last night, however, I just happened to be on the stage, playing the piano. Nowadays, the piano is the only thing that speaks to me."

Virgil cocked his head.

Red Crane blinked. "When I play the piano's keys, I am sort of asking it a question--speaking to it, exploring it. When the sounds of the strings being hit escapes from the piano, it's like the piano is answering my questions--responding to how I play."

"Oh." Virgil had never played a piano before, so he didn't quite understand.

Red Crane looked over Virgil's shoulder, then dragged her mask back over her face. "Listen," She said, her voice muffled by the black cloth. "I have to go now. These mangoes are starting to smell." She hoisted a lumpy bag from the shadows onto her shoulder and proceeded to leave.

"Wait!" Virgil reached out and grabbed the girl's arm. She stopped.

"Uh...will you...tomorrow?"

Red Crane turned around and stared at Virgil for a long moment. "I don't plan to steal anything tomorrow," She replied after the long pause, "But I'll be around here."

"Oh. Ok." Virgil let go reluctantly. Red Crane stared at Virgil for another moment, then turned and walked down the street, turning right at the third block.

---

From then on, for another few days, Virgil and Red Crane met each other at nights in the dark shadows of the alleys. Sometimes, he'd fly her to the hotel where he had dinner with Shaq where she claimed to live. Strangely, as long as he was either touching her or standing near enough to touch her, everyone would take as much notice of him as they would her, as if the cloak of invisibility she wore about her stretched out to fit him as well. Thus, when they flew through the air on his disc, both remained virtually invisible to everyone else. Virgil began to enjoy the feel of her thin arms around him as they flew, and the way her long curtain of black hair streamed out behind her and brushed his cheeks pleasantly.

At home and at school, though, Virgil began to feel the consequence of her influence. He became less and less noticeable, to the point where it seemed that even his father, Sharon, and Richie could barely focus entirely on what he said. They seemed to forget completely about him at moments; Richie began to forget that he knew Virgil, much less Static. When he fought a bad guy, his purple electricity was as visible and harmful as always, but he wasn't. Once at home, he saw a newscast of himself fighting. The news reporter identified him not as Static, but as someone no one could seem to see, could fly, and had powerful electricity powers.

Virgil confessed his new found invisibility to Red Crane one night while they were sitting on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city. She listened, blankly at first, then with concern. Ever since he began to visit her every night, she had slowly opened up to him. He, in turn, told her who he was.

"This isn't good. It seems that your relationship with me is beginning to show its consequences."

"But how is it happening? Is some of your invisibility rubbing off onto me, or something?"

She nodded somberly. "I think so." Neither spoke for a moment. Then, for the first time, Red Crane broke the silence.

"I think it's better that you stop coming to see me, Virgil."

Virgil started. "What?"

"It's not good for you to be like me. Especially someone like you, who's nice and funny and sociable."

"But I don't mind! I like being invisible. I like being with _you_."

"Virgil, listen to me. It really isn't all that great, being invisible. Being like this is only fun for a few days, and after that, you begin to miss having friends, talking to your family."

Virgil thought of his sister, and Richie. "I don't think I will," He contradicted.

Red Crane sighed, and reached over to take his shoulders firmly in her hands. "Please, Virgil. I don't want you to be invisible. I don't want you to be like _me_."

"But I do!"

"Virgil, you don't know how much it will hurt to see your family move on without you, as if you were never there."

"But I want to know."

Frustrated, Red Crane shook him slightly. "Virgil, stop it. You can't see me anymore, all right? From now on, please don't come find me." Before he could reply, she hugged him tightly to her. Then, she slipped out of his arms like water with her head bowed to keep her face out of sight and jumped over the edge of the roof, disappearing into the shadows underneath, leaving him stunned and truly alone.

* * *

**A/N: **Soo, yeah. Thanks to snarky Beth for inadvertently giving me the idea of calling my character Red Crane. :D

Please R&R!

--Sanded Silk--


	4. Chapter 4

Fourth chapter, people. Read and review, please...

Eh...not much to say about this chapter before you dive in. I will say, however, that Virgil is going to be uncharacteristically moody/angsty/sad. --sigh--

**Disclaimer: I only own Red Crane. My coolest fictional character ever. ;)**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

Virgil sat on his bed that night, feeling dead. After having to deal for a long time with his father's kind cluelessness, his sister's lack of understanding, and Richie's pushiness, Virgil found great comfort in his friendship with Red Crane. Though she hadn't revealed to him who she was before the Big Bang, to have her talk to him openly and to have her listen to him while he raved about his personal troubles had been a huge relief compared to before he met her, when he had no one to confide in and was forced to hold everything inside himself.

Virgil reached shakily for his headphones, but the music brought no mind-numbing nothingness. The sadness in her voice overtook the banging of his music, and the feel of her arms around him kept his senses from numbing. After a full five minutes of trying to rid his mind of thought, Virgil yanked off his headphones and dropped them onto the ground. He didn't care about keeping his room clean anymore; Sharon and his father walked by his door like it wasn't even there.

_It seems_, he thought to himself, _that she really doesn't need anyone to live. I guess she really is made to be a loner. Maybe she was right. Maybe I really do need more than just her to survive. But I thought..._

He rolled over to bury his face into his pillow, his hand forming a fist. What _did_ he think? That she needed him as much as he thought he needed her? That she was selfish enough to make him continue seeing her, even if it meant his bond with the rest of the world would break?

Virgil pressed his face deeper into his pillow. Red Crane's wan smile floated into his mind. Though she wasn't physically sound, she seemed mentally tough as nails. Months of solitude hadn't broken her sanity, and it didn't seem like it would come even close to touching her sanity for awhile. She was a natural loner. She didn't need human connections to feel secure. Perhaps it was better for Virgil to leave her alone as she wished.

That night, sleep never visited Virgil.

-o-o-

The next morning, Virgil stumbled down the stairs, light-headed from lack of sleep. He sat down at the breakfast table, even though he knew Sharon wouldn't make enough waffles for three. After watching his family float around him for awhile, he got up, grabbed an apple, and wandered out of the door listlessly.

As the days passed by, Virgil donned his costume at night and cruised in the skies, wondering vaguely if Red Crane would call out to him. But she never did. And when she robbed a store, she didn't hang around, waiting for him to catch up with her.

One of those nights, Virgil remembered how her sister was part of the gang she was stealing for. Recalling her directions to the gang's hangout, he found a group of ragged children. The oldest child, a boy, couldn't have been over twelve years old. When Virgil arrived, they were crowding around a bag of fuzzy, dirty peaches, bruised and soft and incredibly sweet. Virgil caught sight of a Chinese girl in the midst of the Hispanic, White, and Black children grabbing greedily for the peaches. She had the shape of Red Crane's mouth, and the curve of Red Crane's cheek. But her eyes weren't quite as slanted, and were unnaturally large, and her nose was slightly flatter.

After watching for a few moments, Virgil turned his disc and flew away quietly.

Also, as the days went by, people began to take more and more notice of Virgil. One morning, Virgil walked out of the bathroom straight into Sharon. "Oh, Virgil," She said, blinking and smiling vaguely. It was the first time she'd said his name for at least a week. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Virgil's mouth hung open for a moment, before he realized she had asked him a question. "Uh, waffles. Waffles are good." She smiled blearily, and walked past him into the bathroom, humming something he never heard before. At the breakfast table, his father suddenly asked him whether he'd been cleaning his room. Virgil gulped, remembering the headphones on the floor among other things, and replied yes. His father nodded and reached for the milk.

Richie greeted Virgil on the way to school, and asked if he needed help with math. Daisy smiled at Virgil and asked him if he needed help with history during lunch. Frieda tripped into him and apologized profusely. In science class, his teacher, upon discovering that Virgil wasn't busy doing his classwork but was staring out the window with glassy eyes, raised an eyebrow and asked him a sharp question that made no sense.

All of this sudden noticing, this sudden recognition, and the vague feeling that he was being drawn out of Red Crane's plane of reality back into the one he had been in before, made Virgil feel like he was drowning. Sounds were hollow in his ears, and the pace that everything ran at seemed a bit slower than he remembered it to be. Worst of all, the feeling of being dragged back into the social world was something Virgil couldn't do anything about. He could only sit back and wait for the shifting to be over, and hope that the feeling of drowning would disappear once it was over.

-o-o-

Suddenly, one night, as Virgil coasted along in the evening skies, a blanket of thick air wrapped itself around him. The feeling of drowning increased, and he stopped his disc, hovering in midair for a moment. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the air began to loosen its fingers around him. As it did, Virgil's eyes widened in realization. Of course! It was _her_. This was the kind of air that surrounded Red Crane, and in turn, surrounded him whenever he was near her. She had been near him just now, and was leaving rapidly.

Without thinking, Virgil tore off, flying in desperate circles, groping wildly for a wisp of the heavy air. He found it as it hit him in the face, and looked around quickly.

Below him, Red Crane was running lightly, a bag of stolen goods slung over her shoulder and bouncing against her back with every stride, hoping that Virgil wouldn't see her. She stopped as a shadow fell over her, and looked up at the same time Virgil looked down.

Virgil halted in midair for only a split second, before diving straight down at her. With wide eyes, Red Crane dropped the bag she was carrying and reached her hands over her head to him. As Virgil flew towards her, he reached out for her hands as well, and grabbed her wrists as he flew by her, lifting her onto the disc as he regained altitude. He landed his disc on the rooftop of a building, and stepped off, dragging her with him. He turned and stood right in front of her, both hands on her shoulders, before lifting one hand to take off her hat and stare at her eyes. It was her. It was really her.

Virgil took a step forward and swiftly wrapped his arms around her. A few moments passed before he felt her slowly return his embrace. At first, she only draped her arms around his torso lightly, but her arms beame progressively tighter around him, until she was holding him as tightly as he was holding her. When they finally drew apart, her cheeks were wet with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered, sniffling. "I am too selfish to let you go. I know I will ruin your life and make returning to your plane more painful than before if I allow you to return to me, but I can't...I just can't let you go." Virgil leaned his face in towards her, tilting his head to the side and brushing his nose against her cheek. With another hurried breath, she ranted on, her lips brushing against his cheekbone like whisps of a feather. "I'm so sorry, Virgil, I-"

She broke off when he touched her thin cheek with gloved fingers, wiping away the trails of tears. "There won't be another time when I return to my plane. Even if you push me away, I'll come right back to you. I'll find you, even if you don't want me to." He whispered back, his breath coming in ragged drags.

Red Crane reached up to touch his face, which was wet with tears as well. "I don't think I can push you away ever again," She whispered hoarsely, and didn't lean away when Virgil pressed his tear-stained cheek against hers, wrapping his arms around her again. As they sank down onto the roof, Red Crane put her mouth to his ear. "Yula," She whispered.

"What?" Virgil turned his head to her. "My name," She replied softly. "It's Yula."

Virgil gently rubbed his cheek against hers, running the name over his tongue. "Yula," He whispered to himself. It felt foreign and hard, and incredibly smooth. He sighed, and pushed his nose deep into her hair. It was almost eleven o'clock that night when Virgil reluctantly left Yula to return home.

* * *

**A/N: **Woooo, gave my character a name! Finally!! XDDD

Every time I proofread a chapter, I always realize vaguely that it could be written so much better, and yet I can't quite put my finger on what I should do to improve my writing. Maybe change the way I describe things? Maybe not describe things as much? Please help me out!

Review, review, review!

--Sanded Silk--


	5. Chapter 5

Fifth chapter!! -BIGSMILE&THUMBSUP-

Thanks to everyone who attempted to help me by giving me suggestions on how to write. I will dilligently try to incorporate your suggestions. I will most definitely fail, but I will try. It's the attempt/s that count, right??

...--sigh--

**Disclaimer: I own Yula. And that's about it.**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

Things returned to the way they were before Yula's attempt to distance herself from Virgil. Every night, whether Yula stole a bagful of food from a store or not, she and Virgil met in the thickest of shadows at night, where the silence was the least penetrable. One of these nights, Virgil asked Yula a question that had burned in his mind for a long time.

"What now?"

Yula tilted her head back, and looked at Virgil for a moment from under the brim of her hat. "What do you mean, 'what now'?"

"Well, we can't really go anywhere with our...uh, relationship, because of our living on a different plane of reality. Y'know? It just wouldn't really work. And we also can't back out, because we promised each other. Which means we're stuck in this phase for awhile, doesn't it?"

Yula leaned her head forward, looking down thoughtfully. "I see what you mean. Yes, I suppose our relationship is somewhat stagnant. But why do you feel the need to push this? I think we're fine the way we are."

Virgil nodded slowly, then turned his head upwards to stare at the stars, changing the topic. "You know, I've been watching the news. They say they're getting closer and closer to finding a Bang Baby cure. If they do find one, will you have a home to return to?"

"I do. An aunt. My uncle was alive when my sister and I lived in their household, but he died after the Big Bang happened in a car crash."

"Oh." Virgil frowned. "So why does your sister not live with your aunt?"

"My uncle...was a violent man. His job worked him like a horse, and he spent most of the money he earned on alcohol. After he came home late at night, he'd often beat my sister and I in a drunken rage, and our aunt roughly every other night. After the Big Bang happened and I disappeared, my sister was left alone to deal with our uncle. And since our aunt was of no help against him, my sister ran away." Yula sighed. "The most infuriating of it all was that I couldn't tell my sister who to go to, because I knew of a few gangs who would definitely take care of her if she told them she was my sister, and I couldn't tell her when my uncle died because of these powers from the Big Bang that I got, so she couldn't return to my aunt's household, where she would have been safe and well-fed."

Yula blinked slowly for a moment, then continued. "My aunt is still looking for the two of us. She came within a baby's breath of finding my sister during her last attempt that I am aware of, but she looked the other way just before my sister came into view." Yula frowned at the memory. "I remember vividly wanting to punch one of them."

Despite of himself, and despite of her family's plight, Virgil laughed as Yula smiled dryly.

"Then...then, I guess the only way all of this-" Virgil waved his arms vaguely-"is if those big-shot scientists find a cure for the Bang Babies."

"But there is a drawback to their finding a cure." Yula blew a gust of wind through her slightly parted lips, which seemed always to be dry. "If you are 'cured', then you can't continue being Static, can you?" Virgil's heart skipped a beat. She was right.

"I guess that kind of is a drawback." Virgil puffed out his cheeks, slightly depressed. "If they do find a cure, I won't ever have a chance to be part of the Justice League."

Yula looked over at Virgil's sad smile, and had to look away. "Well, I think the doctors will give Bang Babies a choice on whether they want to be cured or not when they find a cure."

"Naw, I don't think so." Virgil shook his dredlocks. "They wouldn't want the bad Bang Babies to stay Bang Babies. They'll probably be willing to sacrifice losing the good Bang Babies for also losing the bad Bang Babies. Besides, they've forgotten completely about Static." With every second, Virgil seemed to slump more and more forward on the edge of the rooftop they were on.

"Well…" Yula frowned, trying to come up with something that would comfort Virgil. "Well, those scientists must have had a sample of the Bang Baby gas to find the antidote. If you could just find that sample and breathe it, then you could stay as Static, and I would be able to rejoin my family. Or what's left of it."

"And all this is _if_ they manage to find a cure." Virgil sighed heavily, rubbing his face with his hands.

Yula watched Virgil despair for a moment, and hesitantly laid a hand on his shoulder. "They'll definitely find a cure. We just have to wait and be patient." Virgil sighed, his shoulder rising and falling under her hand, and didn't answer. After a few more minutes of silently breathing in the city night air, Virgil stood up heavily. "I'm gonna go home now. You need a ride to your hotel?"

Yula sighed equally heavily, and nodded silently. Virgil stepped onto his disc, charged it effortlessly, and hovered inches above the rooftop. Yula took his outstretched hand, though she didn't need it, and jumped onto the disc behind him. When he knew that her arms were wrapped securely around his waist, Virgil shot off from the rooftop and into the darkening sky.

When the hotel was in sight, Virgil's constant flow of electricity into the disc suddenly faltered, and for a moment they were hanging in the air. As they began to fall, Virgil realized what was happening and a surge of electricity burst forward from him into the disc. The disc regained balance, but Virgil had inadvertently sent the sudden surge of electricity out to Yula, and she let go from the shock. When he shot off again, Yula lost her balance and fell from the disc.

Virgil cussed viciously when he realized that the usualy weight of her arms around him was missing, and he looked down to see Yula spinning and rolling in the air. Without a second thought, he dove after her.

Yula pulled herself into a ball, forcing her mind to stay calm and her heart to stay in her chest, and allowed herself to spin until she knew her feet were pointing downwards. Then, she straightened slowly, and focused on the rooftop that was rapidly approaching, hoping that she could land without shattering her ankles.

Just when she was a mere few feet above the rooftop, the glint of hard silver flashed at the corner of her eye, and a mass of dredlocks and dark skin and wiry body hit her full on from the side. Her view of her surroundings was suddenly replaced with black, yellow, and blue cloth. Though she couldn't see much, she could feel herself still rolling and falling, and she could still feel the shock of landing as it jolted through the lean, sturdy body she had instinctively wrapped her arms around.

When the rolling and the jolting stopped, Yula found herself lying under whatever had somewhat diverted her fall. She slowly withdrew her face from the cloth, pushing her black hair from her face. A winded Virgil was lying on top of her, breathing as hard as she was and staring down into her face. She stared back for a moment, before burying her face back into his chest and allowing the waves of fear, relief, and gratitude to crash through her and wear her body out.

Virgil sat up slowly, using his arms and hands to support himself, allowing Yula to still cling to him. When he decided that he could sit up without falling over, he lifted his hands from the rooftop and held Yula close to him, pressing his cheek against her hair breathing shakily and feeling immensely relieved. Though the city night raged on around and underneath them, an air of silent gratefulness engulfed them, protected them, as they sat shaking and holding each other tightly on the rooftop.

"I don't know what happened back there," Virgil said after a long moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" Yula's voice was shaky and even quieter than normal.

"Before you fell, something happened to my powers. It was only for a second, but I suddenly lost all control of the electricity going into my disc, and when I got back into control, the electricity felt...weaker, somehow."

Yula fisted a hand in his shirt. "You mean, you felt like you were losing your powers?"

Virgil allowed the though float in his head. "Yeah. It was something like that."

Yula pulled away slightly, though she left her hand fisted in his shirt. She studied his face for a moment, then stood up shakily. He stood up as well, and she leaned on him slightly as she walked over to the edge of the rooftop. She leaned over the edge, peering down at the people passing by.

A young girl walking by with her mother looked up at them and stared at them straight in the eyes for a moment. The look of curiosity that was on her face didn't waver for several seconds. Just when Virgil thought that the girl would turn and ask her mother why two teenagers were on the rooftop of a random building, a bland look of indifference slowly stretched over it, and she looked away as if she hadn't seen anything.

Virgil leaned away and looked at Yula. Yula leaned away as well, looking surprised and a little scared.

"Is something wrong?" Virgil asked.

Yula hesitated before answering. "That girl. She was able to look at both of us straight in the eyes for longer than anyone had before."

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that...?"

"That, if I'm not imagining things, the powers I got from the Big Bang are fading like yours are."

Virgil raised his hand to chest level and summoned a burst of crackling purple electricity. It flickered on and off, uncharacteristically weak. He looked back up at Yula. "That cure we were talking about before..."

"Maybe it's happening now!" Yula's eyes widened, and she gripped Virgil's arms with sudden strength. "If it is, I can go back to my aunt and my sister, and..."

Unlike Yula, who was clearly ecstatic, Virgil felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that deepened with every second of his realization. "And I'll lose my powers." He sighed, deflating visibly. Yula's face fell slightly. "...Oh. That's right." Silence.

Yula ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair, not knowing what to say.

"Listen. Why don't you go home and catch up on the news? If someone found a Bang Baby cure and is letting it seep into the city, it's bound to be covered by some news channel."

Virgil nodded silently. Then, he looked over at the hotel where Yula was staying. "Uhh, should I risk flying you back to the hotel? Or do you want to walk?"

Yula shook her head. "I'm going to go over to my aunt's house, and see if I can talk to her."

"But what if you fade away from her sight like you did to the girl? She'll think she's seeing things and faint or something."

Yula smiled faintly. "Then I'll write her a note. I don't know--I just have to try something."

Virgil nodded, suddenly feeling tired. "All right. I'll get home now, I guess."

Seeing his disappointed face and hearing the slouch in his voice, Yula sighed and took his arm. "Everything's going to work out, Virgil. Don't worry. And...uh, thanks for saving me earlier today." Yula looked deep into his eyes, and smiled as warmly as she could.

Virgil smiled back, watched as Yula lept over the edge of the rooftop into the dark alleys below, and turned to his disc, charging it with a slightly weaker current of electricity and flying off into the night.

* * *

**A/N: **Ummm...... yeah. Sorry for all of you who gave me advice and see that I kinda didn't follow through with it. --sob--

Please review! And no flames on the editing, because I didn't bother to proofread. Maybe someday I'll completely rewrite this chapter, but not now. --looong sigh--

--Sanded Silk--


	6. Chapter 6

Sixth chapter!! :D

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! --hands out cookies--sorry if you're allergic to chocolate.--

**Disclaimer: Ablabla. I don't own anything.**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

Virgil flew into his window quietly, and quickly changed out of his costume, stuffing it into his backpack, which he threw under his bed. He took out his pajamas and pushed himself into them, then clomped down the stairs to the living room. The television was on, and his father was watching it. Sharon wasn't in sight--probably at some girlfriend's house. Ignoring the lingering smell of Sharon's failed attempt at dinner, he walked into the living room and stood quietly at the doorway, listening to the television, which was on the news channel.

"...So, professor Andrews, is it true that you and your colleagues have found a cure for the Bang Baby gas?" Virgil nearly jolted out of his pajamas, and stared at the television with a new interest.

"Yes, in fact. With the government's permission, we have discreetly been leaking the antidote in gas form throughout the city and awaiting to see its effects. A number of Bang Babies have returned to their original human forms, with no signs of side effects so far. Soon, all of the city's Bang Babies should be returned to normal. After about three days, enough antidote will have seeped into the air to cure all Bang Babies, so three days from now, my colleagues and I plan to stop the flow of antidote into the atmosphere."

"But professor, shouldn't the Bang Babies themselves have a say in whether they want to return to human form or not?"

The professor turned this question over on his tongue, thinking. "With very few exceptions, this city's Bang Babies have been a threat to society, like Ebon's crew, and various criminals who operate by themselves. My colleagues, the government, and I all agree that it is worth losing the good Bang Babies if the evil ones are lost as well."

For a moment, both the reporter and the professor looked as if they were trying to remember something. Virgil watched them work their mouths silently, then get a fuzzy look in their eyes. In a moment, it was over; the professor's eyes were as calm as ever, and the reporter's mouth was as sharp as ever.

As they continued the interview, Virgil backed away from the room, absorbing the information he just heard slowly. It was barely sinking in.

At that moment, Mr. Hawkins seemed to notice Virgil in the room. He looked at Virgil fuzzily. "Hey, son," He said blearily. A mix of worry, confusion, and dazedness flashed across his face. "How are you doing? Haven't seen much of you for awhile..." He barely suppressed a yawn. "I've b-been good," Virgil replied distractedly, still engulfed by what he had just heard.

"Good," Mr. Hawkins said, smiling strangely. "Been hanging out with Richie lately? Haven't seen him for awhile." His eyes slowly lost focus, before snapping back to the present. "Who _have_ you been with, anyway?"

Virgil looked at his father briefly. "Yula," He said without a moment of hesitation.

At the mention of Yula's name, Mr. Hawkins seemed to loose all concentration on Virgil. He blinked at the doorway where Virgil was standing, and turned back to the television screen, looking a little confused.

Virgil walked out of the room slowly, thoughts running through his head. By the time Yula could return to normal, Virgil would be normal as well. Static would never make a comeback, and would forever remain lost in the deepest corners of everyone's memories, except for Yula, or course. The feeling of being pinched out of the world just like that made Virgil feel like something big and heavy was pushing him deep into the floor. He walked out of the room numbly, each foot weighing a ton, and climbed the stairs without seeing where he was going. He pushed open the door of his bedroom and sat down on his head, burying his face into his hands, the interview from the news still sinking in.

A knock on his window woke him from his stupor. He looked up slowly, and saw Yula crouching on his windowsill and peering in steadily at him. Her mask was pulled over her mouth and nose, and her beret was pulled down low over her eyes. He got up and opened the window, and she stepped in silently. As he closed the window, she pulled her beret off and pushed her mask down to her chin, and gulped in a huge sigh.

Virgil decided not to ask how she knew where he lived. "Is something wrong?"

She perched easily on the edge of his desk, and slouched forward, burying her face into her hands like Virgil had earlier. "When I crawled into my aunt's room, she heard me and looked up and saw me, but only for a second. She nearly had a heart-attack. She definitely did recognize me, though, because when she saw me, she shrieked my name." She rubbed a hand over her face, and sighed again, before turning back to Virgil. "So did you find out anything?"

"Yeah," Virgil said, sitting down on his desk beside Yula. "There was an interview on the news channel earlier. Some professor found a gas that he thought could be the cure and got the government's permission to leak it into the city's atmosphere. He says that there have been lots of cases where Bang Babies have returned to human form without any side effects already, so he thinks that his cure is working. Every Bang Baby's gonna change back to human form, whether they want it or not."

"I'm sorry," Yula said quietly. "It's very selfish of the professor, to do something like this."

"I guess," Virgil said, sighing dejectedly. "The good news is that the professor plans on stopping the antidote from getting into the air three days from now, so I guess the antidote will spread out and become too thin to be effective."

"Oh," Yula said. "Well, that _is_ good news."

"But by the time three days is over, I don't think I will have any trace of Bang Baby left in me. I can feel my powers disappearing. It's like a part of me separating and floating off." Virgil frowned and looked down at his hands for a moment. Then, before Yula could say anything, he looked back up.

"Anyways. Like you said, he must have a sample of the Bang Baby gas hidden somewhere. If I can figure out where it is and get it, then I think I can remain Static for at least awhile."

His words were optimistic, but a shadow was cast over his entire face, and he looked drained. Yula opened and closed her mouth, at a loss for words of comfort. "I...I'm sorry," She repeated, and looked embarrassed.

Virgil smiled despite himself. "It's okay. Don't worry. Everything's going to work out fine." He hoped he sounded more convinced than he felt.

Silence ensued. Virgil puffed out his cheeks, then allowed the air to seep out of his mouth with a funny sound. "The thing is," He said as he furrowed his brow, "I think the professor might be right. You know, when he says that this city could do without any Bang Babies, good or bad."

"He's an idiot," Yula said flatly. "Don't listen to him."

"But maybe I really should just give up the hero life and have a normal one. Focus on school. Go to college. Have a normal job, raise a normal family. If I were a superhero, maybe I could go to college and maybe I could get a job, but I could never have a family without putting it in danger."

"Having a normal life has its downsides too," Yula argued. "Normal lives are boring and monotonous. The same routine, every day, every week. Nothing to make your life worth living."

"But that doesn't mean this city needs me. They've got the police force."

"But what about villains outside of this city? Like, for instance, in Gotham? I know you went after that girl--Allie--awhile back. You told me about it." Yula paused, the muscles in her jaw working. Virgil could see that she was trying to say something, but didn't know how to make it come out of her mouth. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"And sometimes..." Yula continued uncertainly, "Sometimes, the bad guy isn't who they seem to be. Sometimes, the bad guy just needs someone to talk to, to pour out their feelings and their problems to. And they can't do that with a police officer--what does a police officer care about a someone's personal problems? All they care about is putting someone behind bars. That's their job, after all.

"But to some people, a superhero has a less intimidating outwards appearance than police to, even to some villains. A superhero is more than just a defender of people; he's a...a friend to them, too. He knows homeless children by name. He talks to people like a friend to a friend, rather than like an important person to some lowly homeless person. He sees the importance of a single meaningless life, when a police officer would be willing to throw away millions of meaningless lives if it meant that the results would be for the greater good.

"More than anything, this city needs a superhero, especially with its number of people who live in the cracks of the sidewalks and live only because they haven't died yet."

And she cut off there, not knowing what else to say. But Virgil had been caught up in the hurricane of her words, and was watching her face carefully. For the first time since he had first met her, bashfulness tugged relentlessly at her features. He smiled gently at her, and leaned over to wrap his arms around her, and wondered what he would do without this girl.

"Now that you've convinced me to continue being Static," Virgil said as he slowly pulled away, "I just have to figure out how to get some of that professor's Bang Baby gas."

"You mean _we_," Yula corrected. "I'm going to help you find the gas." Before Virgil could protest, she rushed on.

"If we act, say, tomorrow, or even tonight, I would still be able to move around mostly unseen. And I-"

"I was going to say that you're welcome to come," Virgil said, amused. "Anyway. There are two labs in the city. Do you want to take one, and me take the other? Or do you want to go to each together?"

"Going separately would take less time," Yula said simply. "And you want the gas before your powers completely drain, don't you?"

"Yeah," Virgil said, and sighed. "All right, then. You know where both are, right? You can take the one next to the Gigi's Walk-In-Style Shoes. I'll take the one next to the bookstore."

"Okay," Yula said, then made to climb out the window.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"...To the lab," Yula said, turning her head to glance curiously at Virgil.

"But are you sure you want to go tonight? Maybe we should plan. You know, meet somewhere in some amount of time..."

Yula turned around on the windowsill, perched elegantly, like a bird. "All right, then. We'll meet here, by the time the sky starts to turn blue. If you find it before that time, then bring it here and wait for me. I'll do the same if I find it."

"...All right," Virgil said shakily. He had been picturing more serious planning, but watched helplessly as Yula slipped smoothly out of his window and into the night. He sighed, grabbed his jacket, and clambered out after her.

* * *

**A/N: **Uhh, yeah. I kinda used the idea of scientists leaking an experimental cure out into the city's air, and seeing its effects on the Bang Babies. I added the part about them stopping the flow of antidote, just in case I do something idiotic in the later chapter(s). I decided not to use the original ending, because pulling Ebon and his crew into the story all of a sudden would be awkward.

And also, that little inspirational lecture by Yula near the end...sorry if it was really cheesy or out-of-character for her. If anyone is really bothered by it, I'll rewrite it. (wince)

Please review!!

--Sanded Silk--


	7. Chapter 7

Hmm. I will be mostly improvising this chapter, because I haven't really thought through how I am going to end this story. And yes, this story might be ending with this chapter. :'(

In this chapter, I might actually achieve my dream of describing someone climbing around in air vents!! =D I have some simple dreams, but at least they're easily attainable. ~_^

Um...yes. Disclaimer.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except for Yula. =3**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

After turning back home to retrieve his backpack with his costume (just in case he needed to make a quick and indiscreet escape), Yula and Virgil parted ways to go to their separate labs. Virgil turned his plan over in his mind as he walked towards the lab next to the bookstore. He felt extremely guilty, attempting to steal a tank of Bang Baby gas for purely selfish reasons, like any other criminal. But Yula was already on her way to her assigned lab, with no doubts in her mind. He couldn't simply give up when she was working so intently for the same cause--for his cause. He shook his head and wondered how he could have let himself into this mess.

As he climbed its steps, he saw what he had expected--beyond the simple glass doors, a number pad was fixed next to a set of more secure-looking doors, and above the number pad hung a security camera.

Virgil jumped down the steps and walked as normally as he could to the back of the building, stepping around mysterious green puddles. As he expected, there were windows in the walls of the building, but they were tinted and far from the ground. There was also an innocent back door without a looming security camera nearby, but Virgil new better than to try and break the door down, and risk being faced with unhappy scientists or security cameras. He took one last glance up at the windows, and dropped his gaze to scan the base of the building. He found nothing there as well, so he walked back to the front of the building and climbed the steps, not knowing what to do.

As he climbed the steps a second time, two other adults were climbing up the stairs as well. One was a short and rather fat old man, and was talking nonstop to the thin young woman next to him. Her face was pinched with dignified boredom, and she didn't seem to be listening to anything the old man was saying as she wobbled up the steps in her heels.

Virgil looked around himself self-consciously, before slipping into the building behind the two adults. He pressed himself against the wall where the camera could not capture him, and watched intently as the little old man punched in numbers into the number pad with his stout fingers. 8-9-2-5-6-1-7. The door clicked metallically, and he yanked it open, holding it for the woman to walk through, all the while chatting animatedly. The woman nodded coldly, and walked away without a word. The man stopped talking abruptly, rubbing his head in a confused manner, and waddled off in another direction, muttering to himself.

Before the inner doors closed, Virgil caught a glimpse of the inside of the building. The door seemed to lead straight into a very empty, lobbyish sort of room, with hallways feeding into it from two directions. In the wall of the lobby behind a desk, there was an elevator, and next to the elevator was a door that was marked with the word "STAIRS". Then the inner doors swung closed, and Virgil was looking at a cold block of metal.

Virgil looked up at the camera, which was still swinging its lens left to right and then to the left again, and pointed a finger at it. Very hopefully, he sent a spark of electricity at the camera. It crackled, and detached from the ceiling quite suddenly, crashing into a heap at Virgil's toes. Virgil hopped over the mess, and punched 8-9-2-5-6-1-7 into the number pad with shaking hands. The door slid open indifferently, and he tumbled through, a nervous mess.

As the door slid closed, he quickly scanned the ceiling for more security cameras. He didn't see any, and sighed in relief. Then, very self-consciously, he began to edge along the wall to the stairs. He figured that since there was an elevator, most people wouldn't use the stairs, so it would be less likely that he got caught if he used the stairs. He opened the door, slipped through, and closed the door--just in time to hear a door farther up the stairs slam shut.

He froze, and an icy chill swept over him as footsteps began to clank down the staircase. He looked around, then decided that his best hope was to hide underneath the stairs. He nearly tripped as he ran for the base of the staircase, and huddled underneath it, a heavily breathing mass of shakiness.

A pair of fancy dress shoes tapped onto the floor of the landing, and professor Andrews tapped into view. Virgil felt a sudden rush of resentment, then quickly suppressed it. Professor Andrews reached for the handle of the door to the lobby, and the door swung open before he touched it. The cold young lady from before stood at the doorway, looking at professor Andrews with wide eyes. Then, her indifferent face broke into a wide smile of adoration. "Oh, professor _Andrews_!" She exclaimed slavishly. Professor Andrews mumbled something, then made to walk around her, but she blocked him. "Professor Andrews, you sent me an email about meeting you in your office. Would you like to have the meeting now, or...?"

"Why don't...why don't you go up there right now and wait for me?" The professor suggested. "I will be up in a moment. I have some papers I need to xerox."

"Okay!" The lady chirped, and walked around the professor to climb the staircase. She paused to turn around and wave cutely at professor Andrews, who smiled back weakly and raised his left hand--the one with his wedding ring--to wave back.

Virgil waited until the professor had passed safely through the door and had closed it behind him, and moved out from under the stairs to patter as lightly as he could up the stairs. He peeked through the bars of the railing that spiraled upwards with the stairs to catch glimpses of the lady's wobbly heels. Just when he was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take, the lady stopped abruptly on a landing, opened the door marked "FLOOR 19", and wobbled through. Virgil allowed the door to slam, and opened it again as quietly as possible. He slipped through just in time to see the woman wobble around a corner and disappear.

Virgil ran lightly around the corner, and dove for the door as the lady opened it. As the door closed behind her, he slipped in and hid behind a large cabinet between a window and an air vent in the corner of the room. He tried to get comfortable, which was hard because he was currently smushed against a wall, and waited.

As he waited, he observed the slice of the room he could see from his corner. He could see the edge of a large safe in the wall, and the long length of the window. Out the window with its sash-like curtains, he could see the still-dark sky. If he pressed his cheek against the wall and leaned out as far as he dared, he could see a low table with chairs around it, and a desk with a leather chair in the opposite corner of the room. Cabinets hung above the plain marble counter that framed half of the room.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, Virgil heard the door click open, and the wobbly lady's high, adoring voice. The professor muttered something in reply, and they sat down at the low table. Virgil tuned out of their conversation when they started to talk about their research, which all made absolutely no sense to him, and took advantage of their concentration on their topic to peek around a bit more than he had dared before.

The entire wall that had been out of his view was covered with safes of all sizes. The largest were near the ground, and the smaller ones were piled up high near the ceiling. Virgil was wondering if the gas could be locked in one of the safes when professor Andrews and his wobbly companion stood up abruptly and neared the safes, their backs turned towards Virgil. He ducked instinctively behind the shelf again, before remembering that they couldn't see him with their backs to him, and cautiously peered around the edge of the shelf, tuning back into their conversation.

"...No, I suppose I won't be needing the Bang Baby gas anymore," professor Andrews was saying, "But I don't plan on giving it anymore attention. The properties of this gas that I've discovered are quite unprecedented; I'm not sure what to make of most of it. However, I don't think it has much potential for improving our world--its only proven use up to this point is turning people into mutants. I plan on disposing of it this very night, after our conversation."

Virgil's heart bucked.

The woman replied in a high, syrupy-sweet voice. "I could take it off your hands, if you like. I know that even if you had any interest in this Bang Baby gas, you wouldn't have much time to research it. I just finished a large project, so I've been given a sort of break. I could look into it for you."

"Kate, I think I've already made myself clear," The professor said patiently, as he bent down to unlock a safe. "This gas is very unstable, and very dangerous. It is very easy for someone to find a way to use it for evil, and I can't let that happen, seeing as I am the only one in the world with a sample of it."

He opened the safe door and pulled out a gas tank. "Now, if you'll excuse me," He said, standing back up with the tank in his arms, "I'll be leaving to dispose of the Bang B--"

Neither he nor Virgil had noticed Kate back away from the professor to his desk and pick up the stapler. So when the professor turned to face her and Virgil looked from the professor to her, both didn't have time to react as she slammed the stapler ruthlessly against the professor's head. He fell to the ground, eyes shut, and the tank of Bang Baby gas rolled out of his hands and onto the floor.

Kate was frozen for a moment, looming over the professor on her wobbly heels, as if she were savoring her moment of triumph. Then, she set the stapler back on the table--gently--leaned down quickly to pick up the tank of Bang Baby gas, and made to nudge the door open with the toe of her shoe.

Virgil's limbs finally listened to the screaming of his brain, and he found himself barreling at Kate. He faltered for a moment, remembering his original reluctance at stealing the gas. At this point, Kate had turned around, hearing his foot-falls, but seemed unable to focus entirely on him. She looked at his feet, and then her eyes fogged over. Virgil stood there for a moment, watching Kate as she struggled to clear her suddenly-unfocused mind, and tried to figure out whether he really wanted to steal the Bang Baby gas or not. For a moment, neither Kate nor Virgil made any progress in their mental endeavors. Finally, Virgil reached out and took the gas tank, and slipped around Kate out the door and into the hall.

For a moment, Virgil stood in the hall, forgetting where the stairs were. He looked to his left, and then to his right, and found the door marked "STAIRS". He ran to it, fumbled with the knob, and hurried onto the landing. He pulled at the door as it closed, making sure it didn't bang shut, and proceeded to run down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. When he got impatient with the speed he was going at, he plopped onto the railings of the stairs and slid the rest of the way down, if not shakily.

He opened the door of the first floor and nearly slammed straight into someone else. Barely mumbling an "excuse me", he spun around the person he had smashed into and dashed for the front door.

At the metal doors, he saw the number pad and realized that he had forgotten the string of numbers as soon as he had last punched them in. And, to add to his panic, footsteps were becoming more and more audible from his left. With a burst of desperate energy, he pointed a finger at the number pad and willed a strong current of electricity to blast from his finger to the pad. The screen of the pad lit up and began flashing numbers maniacally, and the correct combination of numbers flashed on the screen. From the doors came a metallic click, and the doors slid open, revealing the glass doors that presented no obstacle.

Virgil watched as the glass doors jumped nearer and nearer, barely realizing that his legs had started to pump automatically, and before he knew it, there was nothing between him and the night city air. He breathed in deep breaths, then choked as a large truck spewing black smoke rushed by.

The smoke woke him from his reverie, and he looked down at the gas tank in his hands thoughtfully, still unsure of what to do with it. Should he go to an underground sewer or some closed-down metro station and inhale the gas there? Or should he go back to his home and check in with Yula?

Or should he chuck it into the port?

Virgil frowned. One side of him argued that since he had already committed the act of stealing the gas, he might as well take advantage of its properties and inhale it. He did want to be Static again, after all. In fact, he really missed being Static. But the other side of him reminded him of his dreams for a normal life with nothing to hide from anyone near him and no one getting hurt because of him, and how stressful it was to live a double life.

Again, he was shocked from his reverie; not by smoke this time, but by a voice.

"Virgil!"

He looked up, and was surprised to see Yula running towards him. "Oh. Hey, Yula," He said, trying not to appear dejected.

"Is that the Bang Baby gas? There wasn't anything in the lab I checked out. Professor Andrews doesn't even work there. I stopped looking early, and went back to your house, but you weren't there, so I came here." She stopped by him, a little breathless, and looked at the tank in his hands.

"...Yeah." Virgil pretended to examine the tiny latch that, if pulled, would release the gas inside.

For a moment, no one talked. Yula scrutinized his face briefly, and knew.

"Virgil, if you don't want to, you don't have to," She said quietly.

Virgil realized that they were getting strange--fleeting, but strange--looks from passerby. Of course they would; Yula was wearing curiously criminal-like clothing and a mask to top it off, and Virgil was holding a large gas tank.

"Let's talk about this somewhere more private," He said in a low voice.

"Sure," Yula said, looking up as well. "I know an abandoned port. They use it as a place to keep boats about to be scrapped. It's a little far from here, though."

"Okay," Virgil said. "Let's go."

-o-o-

When they arrived at the port, Yula picked the lock on the door of the tiny station with one of her hairpins, and they stepped into the dark room. Virgil groped the walls for a light switch. He found one and flicked it on and off, but there was no light from the bare lightbulb that hung above their heads. He sent a tiny shock of electricity into the switch, and it traveled to the lightbulb. The lightbulb flickered and lit up faintly, casting a glow on the dusty room that was furnished with a table against a wall, two chairs, and too many oil barrels to count. Out the tiny window, Virgil could see,despite the darkness of the sky, three ships lined up against the wooden dock--old, rusty things, floating peacefully in the still black water.

Yula tapped at the lid of one of the oil barrels, then lifted it carefully. She peered in, and saw that it was empty. Placing the lid back on and sliding onto the top of it in a comfortable perch, she turned her attention to Virgil.

"So," She said simply.

Virgil set the the tank of gas on the floor, where it stood innocently.

"I don't know, Yula," He said guiltily. "I really do miss being Static. But I also miss being a normal person. I don't know which life to pick."

"I honestly don't know how to help you decide," Yula said, her face pinched with concentration. "I would encourage you to be Static, but I do see your point about living a normal life."

Virgil frowned at the tank of Bang Baby gas as if it was the gas' fault. Actually, it _was_ the gas' fault. For a long, long moment, neither knew what to say.

Footsteps.

Yula and Virgil heard them at the same time. They sat up straight, and looked at each other with wide eyes.

Virgil didn't know why, but his first instinct was to hide. Maybe it was because he had stolen the gas, and it still weighed heavily on his conscience. Maybe he was afraid that someone would see the gas, and then see him, and connect the dots.

Whatever it was, it caused him to yank Yula off the barrel of oil and looked around wildly. The footsteps were coming closer and closer to the door. Raucous laughter suddenly erupted, and Virgil could hear at least three distinctively different voices. He dragged the lid of the oil barrel off, dumped Yula in despite her yelp of surprise, and jumped in after her. Just as he slid the lid of the barrel back on, the door opened, and a crowd of at least five people walked in.

Virgil remembered that, in the movies, when someone hid in a barrel, there was always a hole to peep through. He groped around in the dark, found a small square of flat metal, and pulled at it. It detached from the inside of the barrel with the tiniest of clicks, and revealed a tiny hole.

He moved instinctively for the hole, then realized that he was almost flattening Yula. As quietly as he could, he shifted all of himself onto a small square of what he knew was wood, and listened to the sounds of Yula sitting up and brushing herself off. He put a hand on her arm to indicate that he was sorry, and pressed his eye to the hole.

"...the hell is this?" The people who had entered earlier--all of them young men--had spotted the gas tank and had crowded around it, wondering what it was.

The gas tank.

Virgil clamped his mouth shut to keep from screaming all the curse words he knew. How could he have forgotten to put the gas tank into the barrel with him?

"...dunno what it is," One young man was commenting as he played dangerously with the latch.

Another man, with sandy hair and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth looked carefully at the tank, then took it out of the other man's hands and turned it over, looking for a label. Virgil held his breath and hoped for the best, but the man found a label and, squinting, read out loud, "'Bang Baby' gas".

Everyone in the room grew silent and stared at each other, stupefied.

"Bang...baby...gas...?" One man stuttered.

"Do you know what this could do for us?" The sandy-haired man had recovered and had an excited glint in his eyes. "This stuff could give us powers! Make us invincible! It would make our usual burglary a _piece a' cake._"

Virgil's heart stopped beating for a moment, and Yula's hand was suddenly gripping the back of his jacket in a deathly hold that would definitely leave wrinkles in the fabric.

The other men were nodding and smiling slowly, catching onto the sandy-haired man's idea. "One whiff of this, and boom! Maybe one of us could fly. Maybe one of us could shoot fire out of our hands. Or maybe-"

"Super-strength!" A brawny man shouted, and lunged for the gas tank.

The sandy-haired man withdrew the tank, and the brawny man fell onto his face. "Not so fast," The sandy-haired man said, lowering his voice. "We gotta do it out in the open, so that the gas doesn't get trapped in a building like this one."

"So what if it gets trapped?" The brawny man retorted, getting back up.

"Someone else could come in, take a whiff, and have powers too! And we don't wanna be sharing this gas, do we, boys?"

Everyone shook their heads, grinning madly.

The sandy-haired man looked around, and his eyes locked onto the window. He stared out for a moment, then quieted his fellow brutes. "How 'bout this," He said. "Let's give this gas a go in one of those ships, and then sink it. That way, the gas won't have a chance to get into the open air. Besides, what if someone comes along when we open the tank outside?"

Without another thought, everyone trouped eagerly outside. The brawny man scratched his head. "Where did the gas come from, anyway?" He asked to no one in particular, but no one heard in the excitement.

As soon as the door was closed, Virgil lept out of the barrel and ran to the window, watching helplessly as the men walked onto the deck of one of the ships.

Yula clambered out slowly, watching Virgil's back, and said, "We have to stop them."

"Not we," Virgil said, shaking his head and turning around. "Me."

Yula opened her mouth to protest, but Virgil rushed on. "What if they open the tank while we're in there, trying to stop them? You'll become invisible again. Or whatever the right word is. And you don't want that, right?"

Yula frowned in defeat. "All right. I'll wait in here. But if you don't come out for awhile, or if the ship starts to sink, I'm calling the police."

Virgil nodded. He searched his mind for something to say, but he couldn't think of anything, so he shrugged, smiled weakly, and started for the door.

"Wait!" Yula clamped a gloved hand on his shoulder, and he gladly stopped.

"Put your costume on," She said, letting go of his shoulder. "You can't let anyone see your face bared."

She sat on the edge of the table and watched as he pulled his shirt, then his coat on over his normal clothing, not bothering with the pants and shoes. He pulled on his gloves and tied his mask onto his face. He set his sunglasses on his forehead, gave Yula one final look, and walked out the door.

* * *

**A/N:** Sooo, just kidding; this isn't the last chapter. O_O One more chapter to go!!

...I just realized that I didn't get to make Virgil crawl in an air vent. :( But that's okaaayyy =]

Haha, and I also just realized that I'm making his "rebirth", if you will, on a ship, just like in the series. So I guess I didn't stray as far away from the original story as I was expecting. =/

Please reviewreviewreviewww!!

--Sanded Silk--


	8. Chapter 8

still don't know if this will be the last chapter. =/ I'll try, though, cuz I really want to finish this story alreadyyy D:

**Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock. If I did, Richie wouldn't be in the series. At least, he wouldn't be half as wimpy as he is in the series. **

-Sanded Silk-

* * *

By running to catch up and hoping fervently that no one would spot him, Virgil was able to slip into the room where the young men apparently planned to release the gas. He ducked behind an oil barrel-these things were saving his butt over and over again-while everyone else was watching the sandy-haired man, who was tapping gently on the steel walls of the room. Virgil crouched, making himself as small as possible, and listened intently.

"Right here," The sandy-haired man said suddenly, rapping on a spot on the metal wall. He turned to the rest of the gathering. "Whoever gets super strength-or still has any strength-break this part of the wall as soon as you can after I release the gas. We need to make sure this ship sinks with the last of the gas."

Everyone nodded, chattering vaguely, and watched as the sandy-haired man held out the gas tank and reached slowly for the release lever.

A blur of blue charged forth from the oil barrels and knocked the breath out of the sandy-haired man. While he lay on the ground, dazed, Virgil didn't stop to think ran out the door with the gas tank dangling from his fingers.

As his feet carried him blindly and his ears took in the sounds of shouting and confusion, he tried to think. Now that he had the gas, where could he go? What could he do? He couldn't go back to Yula, because if she accidentally inhaled the gas there was no telling what would happen; he couldn't race into the open. And then he realized that he was running by tons of rooms with lockable doors.

Virgil turned a sharp corner and threw himself into a room, closing and locking the door behind him. There were no windows, and Virgil didn't remember shooting up any stairs, so he knew that he was still underneath the water level. Perfect.

Someone began to bang on the door. They knew he was in there. Panicked, Virgil fumbled with the canister before finally releasing the gas. It unfurled into the air with a long, satisfying hiss. Virgil nearly choked as the gas invaded his nostrils, filled his mind with a purple haze—

"He's opened the can!" Someone outside yelled. Virgil could barely hear; the sensation of regaining his static powers was overwhelming.

And then the door broke down.

Virgil dropped the canister with a loud clang as someone barreled into him. His attacker's angry war cries turned into screams of terror, and Virgil realized that the poor boy was turning into ooze before his eyes.

Other young men ran in as well, and stopped in horror as they watched their friend sink to the floor, turning into a formless puddle of green slime, emitting gurgling sounds of despair. Virgil shook some of the ooze off frantically.

Some of the young men didn't seem to see their friend, and barged in recklessly. One stopped as soon as he entered the room, and he began to howl painfully as his face began to stretch and mold, and his back began to hunch and grow strange-shaped lumps. His eyes turned wide, haunted, dull-red.

Sandy-hair ran in fearlessly, and punched Virgil across the face. Virgil lay on the ground, stunned, and remembered that he had—presumably—regained his powers. He raised a hand, shaking his head to clear his vision, and shot a beam of crackling purple electricity straight into Sandy-hair's chest, throwing him backwards.

Behind Sandy-hair trudged in and endless train of boys, snarling. Their transformations blurred as the punch began to really set in. Virgil groaned, dizzy and hopeless.

But something was happening. Some of the boys were flying out of the doorway, crying out in confusion. Someone else was here! Virgil tried to sit up, but his back felt like jello.

From the confusion at the doorway emerged a silhouette of a person. A girl? She ran to Virgil, knelt by him, said something. Her words were garbled, but he could recognize her voice.

Yula.

Yula!

Virgil sat up with a start, ignoring his jello back. She shouldn't be here. If she breathed the gas—if she breathed the gas—

She put a hand on his cheek, said something quiet, and got up to walk towards the steel wall of the room. He croaked something, reaching a hand after her, and realized with a new surge of panic that she was disappearing.

She did something to the wall. Blew it up, maybe? In any case, the wall split open with a loud grinding of metal, and water rushed into the room, flooding the ship and everyone in it. Yula, now barely a smudge of black, leapt away from the opening in the wall and grabbed Virgil, running out of the room and onto the deck of the ship. There was more jolting and more flashes of black cloth, and Virgil felt himself being gently put down on a hard dirt ground. They were outside.

The creaking of the ships and the faraway cries of despair coming from the ship seeped into Virgil's ears. And then, Yula's face appeared before him, flickering in and out of vision. He croaked her name and reached for her face.

"It's okay," She said. Her face was warped, blurred, and he yelled something incoherent in panic.

She placed a hand on his cheek, and her touch was nothing more than a gust of wind. "It's okay," she repeated, her voice sounding as if it were coming through a very long tunnel. And then she was gone.

"Yu—" Virgil struggled to stay sitting, and looked around himself wildly. The ship was now completely submerged, along with everyone who had been in the ship.

"Yula!"

She wasn't anywhere. She'd given up everything—being with her aunt and sister, living a normal life—just to—

Virgil slammed his fists into the dirt.

_To save me._

"And the antidote to the Bang Baby gas is too weak to help her now," Virgil mumbled to himself. He wasn't able to scream and cry and vent yet. But he would be.

The night sky seemed to drift closer and closer. Virgil looked up at it with bleary eyes, at a total loss. And then the dirt was pressed uncomfortably against his cheek, and his tears were turning the dirt to a crumbly, pathetic sort of mud. And he didn't move from that position for a long time.

—

A day at school, just like any other. The pre-Calculus teacher, Mr. Wabb, was making just as little sense as he did any other day. And Virgil was staring hopelessly at the board, just like any other day. His best hope was to copy down the notes on the board like a robot and to somehow find an explanation elsewhere.

He bent his head to copy down a string of alien language when there was a knock on the door. He looked up briefly, and saw the principal peering into the classroom through the tiny window in the door. As Mr. Wabb talked with the principal, Virgil re-focused on the alien language.

"Class," Mr. Wabb announced as Virgil was staring at his paper, "we have a new student."

Plenty of time to stare later. Meanwhile, Virgil had to copy down—

"Her name is Yula. Everyone, please welcome Yula."

_What?_

As the class emitted some sort of grumble that could have been welcoming in an alternate dimension, Virgil didn't dare look up from his paper, for fear—

_Of what?_

Of hoping too much. Of being disappointed. Of being hurt.

"Yula, why don't you sit behind Virgil. Virgil, please raise your hand?"

Virgil numbly put his hand up in the air, still not daring to look. He felt the new girl—_Yula_—walk by him, heard a thump of books and a rustle of cloth as she sat behind him. Mr. Wabb continued with the lesson.

Finally—slowly—Virgil turned his head, intending to only peek at the new girl—_Yula—_and to snap his head back around. He sucked in his breath, preparing himself to be disappointed, and attempted to see her face.

She had been staring at the back of his head, and when they locked eyes, her lips curved into an involuntary, shy smile.

"Virgil?"

His mouth fell open. He turned all the way around in his seat. Screw pre-Calculus. Yula—Yula—

"You're okay."

"Yeah."

"…How…?"

"They didn't run out of the antidote. When I found that out, I ransacked both of the labs here, and found it, and—" She broke off, and gestured at herself with a delicate, long-fingered hand.

_Was her chin really that pointed? Was her nose really that small? Yeah—I think so. The mask covered everything—I don't remember seeing her face so exposed—_

Beside them, Richie coughed. Virgil barely heard.

It was really her.

Virgil reached out a hand, folded one of Yula's hands into his palm.

"So now, you and your aunt, your sister—"

"We're together, yes."

"Wow."

"Yes. Wow."

Yula's smile, her hand, her presence—all began to really sink in. And Virgil finally allowed himself to smile. It grew wider and wider, until he felt giddy and oxygen-deprived.

"So. Happy ending much, yeah?"

"I think this qualifies, yes."

Silence ensued, but it was natural and light and filled with smiling, and almost like the plane of reality that Virgil and Yula once shared, so neither attempted to break it for a long time.

* * *

**A/N: **Woooh, the story is finally done!

…Well, I am a little sad, because now it's alll over…but if you want to read something of mine, go and read my other stories that that desperately want reviews! ;)

Many thanks to all who stuck with me throughout this story, including Centuri Eagle, snarky Beth, Gothic-Romantic99, Worker72, meggie6, and Pterodactyl. Your reviews kept me from dumping this story into the back corners of my computer's memory -_-

Aaaand…that's all, folks. Thanks again for reading! -insert all cheesy closings here-

-Sanded Silk-


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